U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at least 4,346 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 31,514 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally.

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U.S. Troop Casualties in Iraq

Latest identifications:

None

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at least 773 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.

Latest identifications:

Air Force Tech Sgt. James R. Hornbarger, 33, Castle Rock, Wash., died Sept. 12, 2009 as the result of a heart attack on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

Army Pfc. William L. “Lee” Meredith, 26, Virginia Beach, Va., died Sept. 21, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 569th Engineer Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.

Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Malone, 24, Yonkers, N.Y., died Sept. 24, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Delaram, Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.

Army Sgt. Titus R. Reynolds, 23, Columbus, Ohio, died Sept. 24, 2009 in Omar Zai, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army Staff Sgt. Edward B. Smith, 30, Homestead, Fla., died Sept. 24, 2009 in Omar Zai, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army Spc. Joseph V. White, 21,  Bellevue, Wash., died Sept. 24, 2009 in Omar Zai, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army Spc. Kevin J. Graham, 27, Benton, Ky., died Sept. 26, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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4,000 More Troops to Come Home from Iraq

September 29, 2009

WASHINGTON — The top general in Iraq is sending home 4,000 more U.S. troops by the end of October as the American military winds down the six-year war. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said in remarks prepared for a congressional hearing Wednesday that the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq will total about 120,000 over the next month. …

Full story

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Iraq Bomb Attacks End Ramadan Lull

September 28, 2009

BAGHDAD — A series of bomb attacks across Iraq killed at least 13 people on Monday, police said, ending a period of relative quiet following the Muslim holy month.

In western Anbar province, a suicide bomber driving a water tanker packed with explosives blew himself up near a police station, killing seven policemen and wounding 10, said Hussein Ali, a police major in the area west of the city of Ramadi.

The attack burned out several cars and damaged the building. …

Earlier in the day, a bomb planted on a minibus traveling north toward Baghdad exploded, killing at least three passengers and wounding two just north of Diwaniya, 95 miles south of the Iraqi capital, police said. …

Later, two bombs in western Baghdad — an initial explosion followed by another just as people gathered at the blast site — killed at least three people, including the commander of the local army battalion.

Baghdad security sources said that nine soldiers were wounded in the attack in Ghazaliya district, but a second police source said the bombs wounded 28 people. …

Iraqi police and soldiers remain a prime target for insurgents. Increasingly common are attacks using “sticky bombs,” explosives planted on cars using magnets or other means.

Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 29, 2008

The mother of Mohammed Esam, 19, cries over his body as it is washed before burial, at a cemetery morgue in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. Mohammed was one of 22 victims in Sunday’s car bombing central Baghdad. (Photo: Alaa al-Marjani / AP)

After the Primary Election: Day 20

One year ago today, on the 20th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported on mass-casualty bombings in Baghdad and a lecture by Juan Cole on the foreign policy implications of the Iraq war.